The Western Sydney Wanderers have gone down to North Shore Mariners 2-1 at Sydney United Sports Centre on Saturday night.
First half goals from Mitchell Smith and Chris Lindsay were enough to secure the three points for North Shore Mariners with Wanderer Lochlan Constable scoring a lone goal for the Red & Black on his debut.
The opening exchange between the two sides was quiet with North Shore making a few shots from distance, none of which troubled Wanderers keeper Daniel Axford.
North Shore Mariners went into the lead in the 14th minute after a header from their top goal scorer Mitchell Smith.
The Red & Black responded by controlling majority of possession, but North Shore were happy to sit deep and deny them any valuable space.
North Shore went on to extend their lead with Axford left stranded after Chris Lindsay’s shot took a heavy deflection.
The Wanderers followed with some good chances. The most notable being Charles Abou Serhal’s free kick that was clawed away from the top corner by the Mariners’ keeper.
Abou Serhal was forced to leave the field soon after due to injury but his replacement, Lochlan Constable, got involved straight away with his shot from close range saved.
The Red & Black hit their stride in the second half. Tariq Maia’s free kick from distance was saved before Cameron Devlin’s effort hit the side netting.
Seven minutes into the half, the Wanderers were able to pull one back thanks to a goal from debutant Constable who won the ball back in the midfield before advancing and smashing the ball home.
The chances kept coming as both Oliver Pufflet and Lachlan Campbell went close to equalising.
There was also a strong penalty claim from Mathieu Cordier however the referee chose to play on.
With a few minutes remaining in the match Kyle Cimenti thought he had found the equaliser after reacting quickest to a loose ball in the box but his shot was deflected wide.
Stoppage time saw Maia whip in some dangerous crosses but unfortunately for the Red & Black they were out of reach for his teammates on both occasions.
The loss against North Shore Mariners sees the Wanderers drop to third on the NPL 2 ladder, but overall remain in second place in the Club Championship thanks to wins in the U18s and U20s.
Next week, the Wanderers will travel to Popondetta Park on Saturday night to face Mount Druitt Town Rangers.
Western Sydney Wanderers 1 (Lochlan Constable 52’)
North Shore Mariners 2 (Mitchell Smith 14’ Chris Lindsay 33’)
Western Sydney Wanderers: Daniel Axford, Tate Russell, Blake Currey, Lachlan Campbell, Mathieu Cordier, Charles Abou Serhal (Lochlan Constable 44’), Cameron Devlin (captain), Tariq Maia, Oliver Puflett (Emmanuel Gonzalez 76’), Matthew Lecce (Samuel Silvera 62’), Kyle Cimenti
Unused subs: Mackenzie Syron, Malcolm Ward
Other results:
U20s: WSW 3-1 North Shore
U18s: WSW 7-0 North Shore
U16s: Postponed
U15s: WSW 0-4 Sydney FC
U14s: WSW 0-0 Sydney FC
U13s: Postponed
